The Denver Broncos played one of their best games in quite some time on Sunday, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders soundly despite falling into an early 10-0 hole. The win was the team's first over the Raiders in nearly five years.
It was also an enjoyable day for the home crowd at Empower Field. The Broncos wore their old throwback jerseys as they celebrated the 1977 AFC Championship team and handed out an old-school style beatdown as they pounded the Raiders by a final score of 34-18.
There wasn't much to gripe about in this one if you're a Broncos fan, but it's hard to pitch a perfect game. There were several winners and a couple of losers from this one.
Denver Broncos Week 5 winners and losers
Winner: Patrick Surtain II, CB
This is the only place to start. Patrick Surtain was a big part of the reason the Broncos won this game, thanks to this play.
PATRICK SURTAIN II 100-YARD PICK SIX 🤯pic.twitter.com/8dmmMlB759
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) October 6, 2024
The Broncos fell behind early in this game and the Raiders looked better than they had for much of this season. Moments away from falling behind 17-3, Surtain caught this errant pass from Gardner Minshew and took it back 100 yards for a touchdown.
Surtain added a second interception later in the game. Those who don't think he is the best cornerback in the NFL right now better have an incredibly convincing argument.
Winner: Riley Moss, CB
Surtain set the pace in this game, but his cornerback counterpart, Riley Moss wasn't too shabby either.
Moss has been a surprise piece of this tremendous defense this year, holding his own at one of the toughest positions in the sport. He had a nice knockdown of a pass in this game before later hauling in his first career interception.
What a play made by Riley Moss for his FIRST career NFL interception.
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) October 6, 2024
The former Iowa Hawkeye looks every bit like a LOCKDOWN corner in the league. pic.twitter.com/ERJzYHHuVf
Winner: Bo Nix, QB
Bo Nix is not lighting the world on fire the way that Jayden Daniels is in Washington, but there is growth and there is improvement and that is not hard to see. His confidence is up and that shows on the field. He's starting to get command of this offense and it's starting to flow more freely, all things that were expected once he had a chance to get some playing time under his belt.
Nix threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns in this game against the Raiders. He also scored a touchdown rushing. He also had an intense moment with head coach Sean Payton on the sideline, but that could be a good sign for the young quarterback in all actuality.
Winner: Javonte Williams, RB
You won't see it by looking at the stat sheet, but this was Javonte Williams' best game of the season by far. He carried the ball 13 times for 61 yards and caught five passes for 50 yards, but the big number was his 4.7 yards per carry.
Williams also showed some shiftiness, making some good cuts while also reminding fans of his straight-ahead power, running through and over tacklers during this game. The way Williams played in this game was highly encouraging.
Winner: Pass Rush
Vance Joseph's defense is harassing quarterbacks and creating a lot of hurries while also racking up some sacks. Zach Allen, Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto all got to the quarterback in this game.
The Broncos don't have an elite pass-rusher, but they have managed to manufacture a solid pass rush that is part of one of the league's best defenses.
Winner: Justin Strnad, Linebacker
When the Broncos lost Alex Singleton for the season, someone needed to step up and mirror what he did on the field, i.e. being involved in nearly every defensive play. Justin Strnad got that memo.
Strnad, who has been mainly a special teams guy for the majority of his career, has put together two nice weeks in a row. He led the team with nine tackles on Sunday and was all over the field, particularly in the second half.
Loser: Troy Franklin, WR
Troy Franklin is still coming along slowly in his rookie season, but the team has decided to make him active on gameday ahead of Devaughn Vele, a reverse of what took place in Week 1.
Franklin caught one pass for 20 yards in this game, but his first career touchdown should have been one he caught in his sleep. Nix found him wide open on a deep route and the ball went right through his hands. Hopefully, Franklin gets a chance to atone for that one soon.
Loser: Greg Dulcich, TE
Greg Dulcich didn't have a bad game against the Raiders... because he didn't even get a chance to have a bad game. The Broncos made Dulcich inactive for the contest in favor of Lucas Krull. One has to wonder what that means for his future.
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